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It was also photographed by Jim Dowsett a fraction of a second earlier Click here for Jim's photo.
According to Realtime Trains the route and timings were;
Dollands Moor (GBRf)............0828.................0827........................1E
Sandling [SDG].......................0831 1/2............0831.......................RT
Westenhanger [WHA]...........0833.................0833 1/2...............RT
Herringe...................................0835 1/2...........0836 3/4................1L
Ashford East Junction..........0840 1/2...........0841 1/4.................RT
Ashford International ...........0841 1/2............0842 1/2.................1L
Ashford West Junction........0842 1/2...........0843......................RT
Pluckley [PLC]........................0847.................0848 1/2.................1L
Headcorn [HCN]....................0852 1/2...........0854 1/4.................1L
Staplehurst [SPU]..................0856.................0857 1/2.................1L
Marden [MRN]........................0858 1/2...........0900 1/4.................1L
Paddock Wood .....................0903.................0905 1/4................2L
Tonbridge Up Loop..............0910 1/2............0911........................RT
Tonbridge [TON]...................0912..................0913 1/2..................1L
Hildenborough [HLB]...........0915 1/2............0917 1/4...................1L
Sevenoaks [SEV]...................0922 1/2...........0925 3/4...............3L
Dunton Green [DNG]............0924 1/2...........0930 1/2................6L
Knockholt [KCK].....................0929 1/2...........0936 3/4...............7L
Chelsfield [CLD].....................0931..................0938 1/4................7L
Orpington [ORP]....................0933.................0940.......................7L
Petts Wood [PET]...................0934 1/2...........0942.......................7L
Petts Wood Junction............0935.................0943 1/4.................8L
Bickley Junction[XLY]..........0941 1/2............0944 1/2................3L
Bickley [BKL]...........................0943.................0945.......................2L
Bromley South [BMS]...........0946.................0946 3/4..............RT
Shortlands [SRT]....................0948.................0948......................RT
Shortlands Junction..............0949.................0948 1/4...............RT
Ravensbourne [RVB]............0950 1/2..........0949 1/4.................1E
Beckenham Hill [BEC]..........0953 1/2...........0950 1/2...............2E
Bellingham [BGM]..................0955 1/2...........0951 1/2.................3E
Catford [CTF]..........................0957 1/2...........0954 1/4................3E
Crofton Park [CFT].................1000..................0956 1/2................3E
Nunhead Junction................1002 1/2............0958 1/2................3E
Nunhead [NHD].....................1003..................0959.......................4E
Peckham Rye [PMR]..............1006 1/2............1001........................5E
Crofton Road Junction.........1008..................1008.......................RT
Denmark Hill [DMK]...............1010...................1009 3/4...............RT
Brixton [BRX]...........................1012 1/2.............1013........................RT
Shepherds Lane Junction...1013 1/2.............1013 1/2.................RT
Clapham High Street ...........1014 1/2.............1015 1/2...................1L
Voltaire Road Junction........1015...................1016 1/2...................1L
Wandsworth Road ...............1016...................1017 1/4....................1L
Factory Junction....................1016 1/2.............1017 1/4..................RT
Longhedge Junction............1019...................1020 3/4.................1L
Latchmere Junction..............1023..................1023 1/4................RT
Imperial Wharf [IMW]............1026..................1026.......................RT
West Brompton [WBP]..........1027 1/2............1028 1/4................RT
Kensington Olympia ............1030 1/2............1033 3/4.................3L
Shepherds Bush [SPB].........1032 1/2............1038 3/4.................6L
North Pole Signal Vc813......1036..................1040 3/4................5L
North Pole Junction..............1037/1037 1/2..1041 1/2/NoRep....4L
North Pole International .....1114....................1055......................19E
A fraction of a second exposure allowed the crashing waves to blur, giving the feeling of the water coming straight towards you. I had no tripod, but I managed to sit steady with my elbows on my knees in order to get this shot!
Testosterone
The chemical structure of testosterone.
A ball-and-stick model of testosterone.
Names
IUPAC name
17β-Hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one
Systematic IUPAC name
(8R,9S,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-Hydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-1,2,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one
Other names
Androst-4-en-17β-ol-3-one
Identifiers
CAS Number
58-22-0 ☑
3D model (JSmol)
Interactive image
ChEBI
CHEBI:17347 ☑
ChEMBL
ChEMBL386630 ☑
ChemSpider
5791 ☑
DrugBank
DB00624 ☑
ECHA InfoCard100.000.336
KEGG
D00075 ☑
PubChem CID
6013
UNII
3XMK78S47O ☑
InChI[show]
SMILES[show]
Properties
Chemical formula
C19H28O2
Molar mass288.431 g·mol−1
Melting point155 °C
Pharmacology
ATC code
G03BA03 (WHO)
License data
EU EMA: by INN
Routes of
administration
Transdermal (gel, cream, solution, patch), by mouth (as testosterone undecanoate), in the cheek, intranasal (gel), intramuscular injection (as esters), subcutaneous pellets
Pharmacokinetics:
Bioavailability
Oral: very low (due to extensive first pass metabolism)
Protein binding
97.0–99.5% (to SHBG and albumin)[1]
Metabolism
Liver (mainly reduction and conjugation)
Biological half-life
2–4 hours[citation needed]
Excretion
Urine (90%), feces (6%)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Infobox references
Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. In male humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle and bone mass, and the growth of body hair.[2] In addition, testosterone is involved in health and well-being,[3] and the prevention of osteoporosis.[4] Insufficient levels of testosterone in men may lead to abnormalities including frailty and bone loss.
Testosterone is a steroid from the androstane class containing a keto and hydroxyl groups at the three and seventeen positions respectively. It is biosynthesized in several steps from cholesterol and is converted in the liver to inactive metabolites.[5] It exerts its action through binding to and activation of the androgen receptor.[5] In humans and most other vertebrates, testosterone is secreted primarily by the testicles of males and, to a lesser extent, the ovaries of females. On average, in adult males, levels of testosterone are about 7 to 8 times as great as in adult females.[6] As the metabolism of testosterone in males is more pronounced, the daily production is about 20 times greater in men.[7][8] Females are also more sensitive to the hormone.[9]
In addition to its role as a natural hormone, testosterone is used as a medication, for instance in the treatment of low testosterone levels in men and breast cancer in women.[10] Since testosterone levels decrease as men age, testosterone is sometimes used in older men to counteract this deficiency. It is also used illicitly to enhance physique and performance, for instance in athletes.
Contents
1Biological effects
1.1Before birth
1.2Early infancy
1.3Before puberty
1.4Pubertal
1.5Adult
1.6Aggression and criminality
1.7Brain
2Medical use
3Biological activity
3.1Steroid hormone activity
3.2Neurosteroid activity
4Biochemistry
4.1Biosynthesis
4.2Distribution
4.3Metabolism
4.4Levels
5Measurement
6History
7Other animals
8See also
9References
10Further reading
Biological effects[edit]
In general, androgens such as testosterone promote protein synthesis and thus growth of tissues with androgen receptors.[11] Testosterone can be described as having virilising and anabolic effects (though these categorical descriptions are somewhat arbitrary, as there is a great deal of mutual overlap between them).[12]
Anabolic effects include growth of muscle mass and strength, increased bone density and strength, and stimulation of linear growth and bone maturation.
Androgenic effects include maturation of the sex organs, particularly the penis and the formation of the scrotum in the fetus, and after birth (usually at puberty) a deepening of the voice, growth of facial hair (such as the beard) and axillary (underarm) hair. Many of these fall into the category of male secondary sex characteristics.
Testosterone effects can also be classified by the age of usual occurrence. For postnatal effects in both males and females, these are mostly dependent on the levels and duration of circulating free testosterone.
Before birth[edit]
Effects before birth are divided into two categories, classified in relation to the stages of development.
The first period occurs between 4 and 6 weeks of the gestation. Examples include genital virilisation such as midline fusion, phallic urethra, scrotal thinning and rugation, and phallic enlargement; although the role of testosterone is far smaller than that of dihydrotestosterone. There is also development of the prostate gland and seminal vesicles.
During the second trimester, androgen level is associated with sex formation.[13] This period affects the femininization or masculinization of the fetus and can be a better predictor of feminine or masculine behaviours such as sex typed behaviour than an adult's own levels. A mother's testosterone level during pregnancy is correlated with her daughter's sex-typical behavior as an adult, and the correlation is even stronger than with the daughter's own adult testosterone level.[14]
Early infancy[edit]
Early infancy androgen effects are the least understood. In the first weeks of life for male infants, testosterone levels rise. The levels remain in a pubertal range for a few months, but usually reach the barely detectable levels of childhood by 4–7 months of age.[15][16] The function of this rise in humans is unknown. It has been theorized that brain masculinization is occurring since no significant changes have been identified in other parts of the body.[17] The male brain is masculinized by the aromatization of testosterone into estrogen, which crosses the blood–brain barrier and enters the male brain, whereas female fetuses have α-fetoprotein, which binds the estrogen so that female brains are not affected.[18]
Before puberty[edit]
Before puberty effects of rising androgen levels occur in both boys and girls. These include adult-type body odor, increased oiliness of skin and hair, acne, pubarche (appearance of pubic hair), axillary hair (armpit hair), growth spurt, accelerated bone maturation, and facial hair.[19]
Pubertal[edit]
Pubertal effects begin to occur when androgen has been higher than normal adult female levels for months or years. In males, these are usual late pubertal effects, and occur in women after prolonged periods of heightened levels of free testosterone in the blood. The effects include:[19][20]
Growth of spermatogenic tissue in testicles, male fertility, penis or clitoris enlargement, increased libido and frequency of erection or clitoral engorgement occurs. Growth of jaw, brow, chin, and nose and remodeling of facial bone contours, in conjunction with human growth hormone occurs.[21] Completion of bone maturation and termination of growth. This occurs indirectly via estradiol metabolites and hence more gradually in men than women. Increased muscle strength and mass, shoulders become broader and rib cage expands, deepening of voice, growth of the Adam's apple. Enlargement of sebaceous glands. This might cause acne, subcutaneous fat in face decreases. Pubic hair extends to thighs and up toward umbilicus, development of facial hair (sideburns, beard, moustache), loss of scalp hair (androgenetic alopecia), increase in chest hair, periareolar hair, perianal hair, leg hair, armpit hair.
Adult[edit]
Testosterone is necessary for normal sperm development. It activates genes in Sertoli cells, which promote differentiation of spermatogonia. It regulates acute HPA (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis) response under dominance challenge.[22] Androgen including testosterone enhances muscle growth. Testosterone also regulates the population of thromboxane A2 receptors on megakaryocytes and platelets and hence platelet aggregation in humans.[23][24]
Adult testosterone effects are more clearly demonstrable in males than in females, but are likely important to both sexes. Some of these effects may decline as testosterone levels might decrease in the later decades of adult life.[25]
Health risks[edit]
Testosterone does not appear to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. In people who have undergone testosterone deprivation therapy, testosterone increases beyond the castrate level have been shown to increase the rate of spread of an existing prostate cancer.[26][27][28]
Conflicting results have been obtained concerning the importance of testosterone in maintaining cardiovascular health.[29][30] Nevertheless, maintaining normal testosterone levels in elderly men has been shown to improve many parameters that are thought to reduce cardiovascular disease risk, such as increased lean body mass, decreased visceral fat mass, decreased total cholesterol, and glycemic control.[31]
High androgen levels are associated with menstrual cycle irregularities in both clinical populations and healthy women.[32]
Sexual arousal[edit]
See also: Hormones and sexual arousal
When testosterone and endorphins in ejaculated semen meet the cervical wall after sexual intercourse, females receive a spike in testosterone, endorphin, and oxytocin levels, and males after orgasm during copulation experience an increase in endorphins and a marked increase in oxytocin levels. This adds to the hospitable physiological environment in the female internal reproductive tract for conceiving, and later for nurturing the conceptus in the pre-embryonic stages, and stimulates feelings of love, desire, and paternal care in the male (this is the only time male oxytocin levels rival a female's).[citation needed]
Testosterone levels follow a nyctohemeral rhythm that peaks early each day, regardless of sexual activity.[33]
There are positive correlations between positive orgasm experience in women and testosterone levels where relaxation was a key perception of the experience. There is no correlation between testosterone and men's perceptions of their orgasm experience, and also no correlation between higher testosterone levels and greater sexual assertiveness in either sex.[34]
Sexual arousal and masturbation in women produce small increases in testosterone concentrations.[35] The plasma levels of various steroids significantly increase after masturbation in men and the testosterone levels correlate to those levels.[36]
Mammalian studies[edit]
Studies conducted in rats have indicated that their degree of sexual arousal is sensitive to reductions in testosterone. When testosterone-deprived rats were given medium levels of testosterone, their sexual behaviors (copulation, partner preference, etc.) resumed, but not when given low amounts of the same hormone. Therefore, these mammals may provide a model for studying clinical populations among humans suffering from sexual arousal deficits such as hypoactive sexual desire disorder.[37]
In every mammalian species examined demonstrated a marked increase in a male's testosterone level upon encountering a novel female. The reflexive testosterone increases in male mice is related to the male's initial level of sexual arousal.[38]
In non-human primates, it may be that testosterone in puberty stimulates sexual arousal, which allows the primate to increasingly seek out sexual experiences with females and thus creates a sexual preference for females.[39] Some research has also indicated that if testosterone is eliminated in an adult male human or other adult male primate's system, its sexual motivation decreases, but there is no corresponding decrease in ability to engage in sexual activity (mounting, ejaculating, etc.).[39]
In accordance with sperm competition theory, testosterone levels are shown to increase as a response to previously neutral stimuli when conditioned to become sexual in male rats.[40] This reaction engages penile reflexes (such as erection and ejaculation) that aid in sperm competition when more than one male is present in mating encounters, allowing for more production of successful sperm and a higher chance of reproduction.
Males[edit]
In men, higher levels of testosterone are associated with periods of sexual activity.[41][42]
Men who watch a sexually explicit movie have an average increase of 35% in testosterone, peaking at 60–90 minutes after the end of the film, but no increase is seen in men who watch sexually neutral films.[43] Men who watch sexually explicit films also report increased motivation, competitiveness, and decreased exhaustion.[44] A link has also been found between relaxation following sexual arousal and testosterone levels.[45]
Men's levels of testosterone, a hormone known to affect men's mating behaviour, changes depending on whether they are exposed to an ovulating or nonovulating woman's body odour. Men who are exposed to scents of ovulating women maintained a stable testosterone level that was higher than the testosterone level of men exposed to nonovulation cues. Testosterone levels and sexual arousal in men are heavily aware of hormone cycles in females.[46] This may be linked to the ovulatory shift hypothesis,[47] where males are adapted to respond to the ovulation cycles of females by sensing when they are most fertile and whereby females look for preferred male mates when they are the most fertile; both actions may be driven by hormones.
Females[edit]
Androgens may modulate the physiology of vaginal tissue and contribute to female genital sexual arousal.[48] Women's level of testosterone is higher when measured pre-intercourse vs pre-cuddling, as well as post-intercourse vs post-cuddling.[49] There is a time lag effect when testosterone is administered, on genital arousal in women. In addition, a continuous increase in vaginal sexual arousal may result in higher genital sensations and sexual appetitive behaviors.[50]
When females have a higher baseline level of testosterone, they have higher increases in sexual arousal levels but smaller increases in testosterone, indicating a ceiling effect on testosterone levels in females. Sexual thoughts also change the level of testosterone but not level of cortisol in the female body, and hormonal contraceptives may affect the variation in testosterone response to sexual thoughts.[51]
Testosterone may prove to be an effective treatment in female sexual arousal disorders,[52] and is available as a dermal patch. There is no FDA approved androgen preparation for the treatment of androgen insufficiency; however, it has been used off-label to treat low libido and sexual dysfunction in older women. Testosterone may be a treatment for postmenopausal women as long as they are effectively estrogenized.[52]
Romantic relationships[edit]
Falling in love decreases men's testosterone levels while increasing women's testosterone levels. There has been speculation that these changes in testosterone result in the temporary reduction of differences in behavior between the sexes.[53] However, it is suggested that after the "honeymoon phase" ends—about four years into a relationship—this change in testosterone levels is no longer apparent.[53] Men who produce less testosterone are more likely to be in a relationship[54] or married,[55] and men who produce more testosterone are more likely to divorce;[55] however, causality cannot be determined in this correlation. Marriage or commitment could cause a decrease in testosterone levels.[56] Single men who have not had relationship experience have lower testosterone levels than single men with experience. It is suggested that these single men with prior experience are in a more competitive state than their non-experienced counterparts.[57] Married men who engage in bond-maintenance activities such as spending the day with their spouse/and or child have no different testosterone levels compared to times when they do not engage in such activities. Collectively, these results suggest that the presence of competitive activities rather than bond-maintenance activities are more relevant to changes in testosterone levels.[58]
Men who produce more testosterone are more likely to engage in extramarital sex.[55] Testosterone levels do not rely on physical presence of a partner; testosterone levels of men engaging in same-city and long-distance relationships are similar.[54] Physical presence may be required for women who are in relationships for the testosterone–partner interaction, where same-city partnered women have lower testosterone levels than long-distance partnered women.[59]
Fatherhood[edit]
Fatherhood decreases testosterone levels in men, suggesting that the emotions and behavior tied to decreased testosterone promote paternal care. In humans and other species that utilize allomaternal care, paternal investment in offspring is beneficial to said offspring's survival because it allows the parental dyad to raise multiple children simultaneously. This increases the reproductive fitness of the parents, because their offspring are more likely to survive and reproduce. Paternal care increases offspring survival due to increased access to higher quality food and reduced physical and immunological threats.[60] This is particularly beneficial for humans since offspring are dependent on parents for extended periods of time and mothers have relatively short inter-birth intervals.[61] While extent of paternal care varies between cultures, higher investment in direct child care has been seen to be correlated with lower average testosterone levels as well as temporary fluctuations.[62] For instance, fluctuation in testosterone levels when a child is in distress has been found to be indicative of fathering styles. If a father's testosterone levels decrease in response to hearing their baby cry, it is an indication of empathizing with the baby. This is associated with increased nurturing behavior and better outcomes for the infant.[63]
Motivation[edit]
Testosterone levels play a major role in risk-taking during financial decisions.[64][65]
Aggression and criminality [edit]
See also: Aggression § Testosterone, and Biosocial criminology
Most studies support a link between adult criminality and testosterone, although the relationship is modest if examined separately for each sex. Nearly all studies of juvenile delinquency and testosterone are not significant. Most studies have also found testosterone to be associated with behaviors or personality traits linked with criminality such as antisocial behavior and alcoholism. Many studies have also been done on the relationship between more general aggressive behavior/feelings and testosterone. About half the studies have found a relationship and about half no relationship.[66]
Testosterone is only one of many factors that influence aggression and the effects of previous experience and environmental stimuli have been found to correlate more strongly. A few studies indicate that the testosterone derivative estradiol (one form of estrogen) might play an important role in male aggression.[66][67][68][69] Studies have also found that testosterone facilitates aggression by modulating vasopressin receptors in the hypothalamus.[70]
The sexual hormone can encourage fair behavior. For the study, subjects took part in a behavioral experiment where the distribution of a real amount of money was decided. The rules allowed both fair and unfair offers. The negotiating partner could subsequently accept or decline the offer. The fairer the offer, the less probable a refusal by the negotiating partner. If no agreement was reached, neither party earned anything. Test subjects with an artificially enhanced testosterone level generally made better, fairer offers than those who received placebos, thus reducing the risk of a rejection of their offer to a minimum. Two later studies have empirically confirmed these results.[71][72][73] However men with high testosterone were significantly 27% less generous in an ultimatum game.[74] The Annual NY Academy of Sciences has also found anabolic steroid use which increase testosterone to be higher in teenagers, and this was associated with increased violence.[75] Studies have also found administered testosterone to increase verbal aggression and anger in some participants.[76]
Testosterone is significantly correlated with aggression and competitive behaviour and is directly facilitated by the latter. There are two theories on the role of testosterone in aggression and competition.[77] The first one is the challenge hypothesis which states that testosterone would increase during puberty thus facilitating reproductive and competitive behaviour which would include aggression.[77] Thus it is the challenge of competition among males of the species that facilitates aggression and violence.[77] Studies conducted have found direct correlation between testosterone and dominance especially among the most violent criminals in prison who had the highest testosterone levels.[77] The same research also found fathers (those outside competitive environments) had the lowest testosterone levels compared to other males.[77]
The second theory is similar and is known as "evolutionary neuroandrogenic (ENA) theory of male aggression".[78][79] Testosterone and other androgens have evolved to masculinize a brain in order to be competitive even to the point of risking harm to the person and others. By doing so, individuals with masculinized brains as a result of pre-natal and adult life testosterone and androgens enhance their resource acquiring abilities in order to survive, attract and copulate with mates as much as possible.[78] The masculinization of the brain is not just mediated by testosterone levels at the adult stage, but also testosterone exposure in the womb as a fetus. Higher pre-natal testosterone indicated by a low digit ratio as well as adult testosterone levels increased risk of fouls or aggression among male players in a soccer game.[80] Studies have also found higher pre-natal testosterone or lower digit ratio to be correlated with higher aggression in males.[81][82][83][84][85]
The rise in testosterone levels during competition predicted aggression in males but not in females.[86] Subjects who interacted with hand guns and an experimental game showed rise in testosterone and aggression.[87] Natural selection might have evolved males to be more sensitive to competitive and status challenge situations and that the interacting roles of testosterone are the essential ingredient for aggressive behaviour in these situations.[88] Testosterone produces aggression by activating subcortical areas in the brain, which may also be inhibited or suppressed by social norms or familial situations while still manifesting in diverse intensities and ways through thoughts, anger, verbal aggression, competition, dominance and physical violence.[89] Testosterone mediates attraction to cruel and violent cues in men by promoting extended viewing of violent stimuli.[90] Testosterone specific structural brain characteristic can predict aggressive behaviour in individuals.[91]
Estradiol is known to correlate with aggression in male mice.[92] Moreover, the conversion of testosterone to estradiol regulates male aggression in sparrows during breeding season.[93] Rats who were given anabolic steroids that increase testosterone were also more physically aggressive to provocation as a result of "threat sensitivity".[94]
Brain[edit]
The brain is also affected by this sexual differentiation;[13] the enzyme aromatase converts testosterone into estradiol that is responsible for masculinization of the brain in male mice. In humans, masculinization of the fetal brain appears, by observation of gender preference in patients with congenital diseases of androgen formation or androgen receptor function, to be associated with functional androgen receptors.[95]
There are some differences between a male and female brain (possibly the result of different testosterone levels), one of them being size: the male human brain is, on average, larger.[96] Men were found to have a total myelinated fiber length of 176 000 km at the age of 20, whereas in women the total length was 149 000 km (approx. 15% less).[97]
No immediate short term effects on mood or behavior were found from the administration of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone for 10 weeks on 43 healthy men.[98] A correlation between testosterone and risk tolerance in career choice exists among women.[64][99]
Attention, memory, and spatial ability are key cognitive functions affected by testosterone in humans. Preliminary evidence suggests that low testosterone levels may be a risk factor for cognitive decline and possibly for dementia of the Alzheimer's type,[100][101][102][103] a key argument in life extension medicine for the use of testosterone in anti-aging therapies. Much of the literature, however, suggests a curvilinear or even quadratic relationship between spatial performance and circulating testosterone,[104] where both hypo- and hypersecretion (deficient- and excessive-secretion) of circulating androgens have negative effects on cognition.
Medical use[edit]
Main article: Testosterone (medication)
Testosterone is used as a medication for the treatment of males with too little or no natural testosterone production, certain forms of breast cancer,[10] and gender dysphoria in transgender men. This is known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), which maintains serum testosterone levels in the normal range. Decline of testosterone production with age has led to interest in androgen replacement therapy.[105] It is unclear if the use of testosterone for low levels due to aging is beneficial or harmful.[106]
Testosterone is included in the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines, which are the most important medications needed in a basic health system.[107] It is available as a generic medication.[10] The price depends on the form of testosterone used.[108] It can be administered as a cream or transdermal patch that is applied to the skin, by injection into a muscle, as a tablet that is placed in the cheek, or by ingestion.[10]
Common side effects from testosterone medication include acne, swelling, and breast enlargement in males.[10] Serious side effects may include liver toxicity, heart disease, and behavioral changes.[10] Women and children who are exposed may develop virilization.[10] It is recommended that individuals with prostate cancer not use the medication.[10] It can cause harm if used during pregnancy or breastfeeding.[10]
Biological activity[edit]
Steroid hormone activity[edit]
The effects of testosterone in humans and other vertebrates occur by way of multiple mechanisms: by activation of the androgen receptor (directly or as DHT), and by conversion to estradiol and activation of certain estrogen receptors.[109][110] Androgens such as testosterone have also been found to bind to and activate membrane androgen receptors.[111][112][113]
Free testosterone (T) is transported into the cytoplasm of target tissue cells, where it can bind to the androgen receptor, or can be reduced to 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by the cytoplasmic enzyme 5α-reductase. DHT binds to the same androgen receptor even more strongly than testosterone, so that its androgenic potency is about 5 times that of T.[114] The T-receptor or DHT-receptor complex undergoes a structural change that allows it to move into the cell nucleus and bind directly to specific nucleotide sequences of the chromosomal DNA. The areas of binding are called hormone response elements (HREs), and influence transcriptional activity of certain genes, producing the androgen effects.
Androgen receptors occur in many different vertebrate body system tissues, and both males and females respond similarly to similar levels. Greatly differing amounts of testosterone prenatally, at puberty, and throughout life account for a share of biological differences between males and females.
The bones and the brain are two important tissues in humans where the primary effect of testosterone is by way of aromatization to estradiol. In the bones, estradiol accelerates ossification of cartilage into bone, leading to closure of the epiphyses and conclusion of growth. In the central nervous system, testosterone is aromatized to estradiol. Estradiol rather than testosterone serves as the most important feedback signal to the hypothalamus (especially affecting LH secretion).[115] In many mammals, prenatal or perinatal "masculinization" of the sexually dimorphic areas of the brain by estradiol derived from testosterone programs later male sexual behavior.[116]
Neurosteroid activity[edit]
Testosterone, via its active metabolite 3α-androstanediol, is a potent positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor.[117]
Testosterone has been found to act as an antagonist of the TrkA and p75NTR, receptors for the neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF), with high affinity (around 5 nM).[118][119][120] In contrast to testosterone, DHEA and DHEA sulfate have been found to act as high-affinity agonists of these receptors.[118][119][120]
Testosterone is an antagonist of the sigma σ1 receptor (Ki = 1,014 or 201 nM).[121] However, the concentrations of testosterone required for binding the receptor are far above even total circulating concentrations of testosterone in adult males (which range between 10 and 35 nM).[122]
Biochemistry[edit]
Human steroidogenesis, showing testosterone near bottom.[123]
Biosynthesis[edit]
Like other steroid hormones, testosterone is derived from cholesterol (see figure).[124] The first step in the biosynthesis involves the oxidative cleavage of the side-chain of cholesterol by cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc, CYP11A1), a mitochondrial cytochrome P450 oxidase with the loss of six carbon atoms to give pregnenolone. In the next step, two additional carbon atoms are removed by the CYP17A1 (17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase) enzyme in the endoplasmic reticulum to yield a variety of C19 steroids.[125] In addition, the 3β-hydroxyl group is oxidized by 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase to produce androstenedione. In the final and rate limiting step, the C17 keto group androstenedione is reduced by 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase to yield testosterone.
The largest amounts of testosterone (>95%) are produced by the testes in men,[2] while the adrenal glands account for most of the remainder. Testosterone is also synthesized in far smaller total quantities in women by the adrenal glands, thecal cells of the ovaries, and, during pregnancy, by the placenta.[126] In the testes, testosterone is produced by the Leydig cells.[127] The male generative glands also contain Sertoli cells, which require testosterone for spermatogenesis. Like most hormones, testosterone is supplied to target tissues in the blood where much of it is transported bound to a specific plasma protein, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).
Regulation[edit]
Hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis
In males, testosterone is synthesized primarily in Leydig cells. The number of Leydig cells in turn is regulated by luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). In addition, the amount of testosterone produced by existing Leydig cells is under the control of LH, which regulates the expression of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.[128]
The amount of testosterone synthesized is regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis (see figure to the right).[129] When testosterone levels are low, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is released by the hypothalamus, which in turn stimulates the pituitary gland to release FSH and LH. These latter two hormones stimulate the testis to synthesize testosterone. Finally, increasing levels of testosterone through a negative feedback loop act on the hypothalamus and pituitary to inhibit the release of GnRH and FSH/LH, respectively.
Factors affecting testosterone levels may include:
Age: Testosterone levels gradually reduce as men age.[130][131] This effect is sometimes referred to as andropause or late-onset hypogonadism.[132]
Exercise: Resistance training increases testosterone levels,[133] however, in older men, that increase can be avoided by protein ingestion.[134] Endurance training in men may lead to lower testosterone levels.[135]
Nutrients: Vitamin A deficiency may lead to sub-optimal plasma testosterone levels.[136] The secosteroid vitamin D in levels of 400–1000 IU/d (10–25 µg/d) raises testosterone levels.[137] Zinc deficiency lowers testosterone levels[138] but over-supplementation has no effect on serum testosterone.[139]
Weight loss: Reduction in weight may result in an increase in testosterone levels. Fat cells synthesize the enzyme aromatase, which converts testosterone, the male sex hormone, into estradiol, the female sex hormone.[140] However no clear association between body mass index and testosterone levels has been found.[141]
Miscellaneous: Sleep: (REM sleep) increases nocturnal testosterone levels.[142] Behavior: Dominance challenges can, in some cases, stimulate increased testosterone release in men.[143] Drugs: Natural or man-made antiandrogens including spearmint tea reduce testosterone levels.[144][145][146] Licorice can decrease the production of testosterone and this effect is greater in females.[147]
Distribution[edit]
The plasma protein binding of testosterone is 98.0 to 98.5%, with 1.5 to 2.0% free or unbound.[148] It is bound 65% to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and 33% bound weakly to albumin.[149]
Plasma protein binding of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone show
Metabolism[edit]
vte Testosterone metabolism in humans
Testosterone structures
The image above contains clickable linksTestosterone metabolism in humans. Conjugation (sulfation and glucuronidation) occurs both with testosterone and with all of the other steroids that have one or more available hydroxyl (-OH) groups in this diagram.
Both testosterone and 5α-DHT are metabolized mainly in the liver.[1][151] Approximately 50% of testosterone is metabolized via conjugation into testosterone glucuronide and to a lesser extent testosterone sulfate by glucuronosyltransferases and sulfotransferases, respectively.[1] An additional 40% of testosterone is metabolized in equal proportions into the 17-ketosteroids androsterone and etiocholanolone via the combined actions of 5α- and 5β-reductases, 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and 17β-HSD, in that order.[1][151][152] Androsterone and etiocholanolone are then glucuronidated and to a lesser extent sulfated similarly to testosterone.[1][151] The conjugates of testosterone and its hepatic metabolites are released from the liver into circulation and excreted in the urine and bile.[1][151][152] Only a small fraction (2%) of testosterone is excreted unchanged in the urine.[151]
In the hepatic 17-ketosteroid pathway of testosterone metabolism, testosterone is converted in the liver by 5α-reductase and 5β-reductase into 5α-DHT and the inactive 5β-DHT, respectively.[1][151] Then, 5α-DHT and 5β-DHT are converted by 3α-HSD into 3α-androstanediol and 3α-etiocholanediol, respectively.[1][151] Subsequently, 3α-androstanediol and 3α-etiocholanediol are converted by 17β-HSD into androsterone and etiocholanolone, which is followed by their conjugation and excretion.[1][151] 3β-Androstanediol and 3β-etiocholanediol can also be formed in this pathway when 5α-DHT and 5β-DHT are acted upon by 3β-HSD instead of 3α-HSD, respectively, and they can then be transformed into epiandrosterone and epietiocholanolone, respectively.[153][154] A small portion of approximately 3% of testosterone is reversibly converted in the liver into androstenedione by 17β-HSD.[152]
In addition to conjugation and the 17-ketosteroid pathway, testosterone can also be hydroxylated and oxidized in the liver by cytochrome P450 enzymes, including CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6.[155] 6β-Hydroxylation and to a lesser extent 16β-hydroxylation are the major transformations.[155] The 6β-hydroxylation of testosterone is catalyzed mainly by CYP3A4 and to a lesser extent CYP3A5 and is responsible for 75 to 80% of cytochrome P450-mediated testosterone metabolism.[155] In addition to 6β- and 16β-hydroxytestosterone, 1β-, 2α/β-, 11β-, and 15β-hydroxytestosterone are also formed as minor metabolites.[155][156] Certain cytochrome P450 enzymes such as CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 can also oxidize testosterone at the C17 position to form androstenedione.[155]
Two of the immediate metabolites of testosterone, 5α-DHT and estradiol, are biologically important and can be formed both in the liver and in extrahepatic tissues.[151] Approximately 5 to 7% of testosterone is converted by 5α-reductase into 5α-DHT, with circulating levels of 5α-DHT about 10% of those of testosterone, and approximately 0.3% of testosterone is converted into estradiol by aromatase.[2][151][157][158] 5α-Reductase is highly expressed in the male reproductive organs (including the prostate gland, seminal vesicles, and epididymides),[159] skin, hair follicles, and brain[160] and aromatase is highly expressed in adipose tissue, bone, and the brain.[161][162] As much as 90% of testosterone is converted into 5α-DHT in so-called androgenic tissues with high 5α-reductase expression,[152] and due to the several-fold greater potency of 5α-DHT as an AR agonist relative to testosterone,[163] it has been estimated that the effects of testosterone are potentiated 2- to 3-fold in such tissues.[164]
Levels[edit]
Total levels of testosterone in the body are 264 to 916 ng/dL in men age 19 to 39 years,[165] while mean testosterone levels in adult men have been reported as 630 ng/dL.[166] Levels of testosterone in men decline with age.[165] In women, mean levels of total testosterone have been reported to be 32.6 ng/dL.[167][168] In women with hyperandrogenism, mean levels of total testosterone have been reported to be 62.1 ng/dL.[167][168]
Testosterone levels in males and females show
Total testosterone levels in males throughout life show
Reference ranges for blood tests, showing adult male testosterone levels in light blue at center-left.
Measurement[edit]
Testosterone’s bioavailable concentration is commonly determined using the Vermeulen calculation or more precisely using the modified Vermeulen method,[174][175] which considers the dimeric form of sex-hormone-binding-globulin.[176]
Both methods use chemical equilibrium to derive the concentration of bioavailable testosterone: in circulation testosterone has two major binding partners, albumin (weakly bound) and sex-hormone-binding-globulin (strongly bound). These methods are described in detail in the accompanying figure.
Dimeric sex-hormone-binding-globulin with its testosterone ligands
Two methods for determining concentration of bioavailable testosterone.
History[edit]
A testicular action was linked to circulating blood fractions – now understood to be a family of androgenic hormones – in the early work on castration and testicular transplantation in fowl by Arnold Adolph Berthold (1803–1861).[177] Research on the action of testosterone received a brief boost in 1889, when the Harvard professor Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard (1817–1894), then in Paris, self-injected subcutaneously a "rejuvenating elixir" consisting of an extract of dog and guinea pig testicle. He reported in The Lancet that his vigor and feeling of well-being were markedly restored but the effects were transient,[178] and Brown-Séquard's hopes for the compound were dashed. Suffering the ridicule of his colleagues, he abandoned his work on the mechanisms and effects of androgens in human beings.
In 1927, the University of Chicago's Professor of Physiologic Chemistry, Fred C. Koch, established easy access to a large source of bovine testicles — the Chicago stockyards — and recruited students willing to endure the tedious work of extracting their isolates. In that year, Koch and his student, Lemuel McGee, derived 20 mg of a substance from a supply of 40 pounds of bovine testicles that, when administered to castrated roosters, pigs and rats, remasculinized them.[179] The group of Ernst Laqueur at the University of Amsterdam purified testosterone from bovine testicles in a similar manner in 1934, but isolation of the hormone from animal tissues in amounts permitting serious study in humans was not feasible until three European pharmaceutical giants—Schering (Berlin, Germany), Organon (Oss, Netherlands) and Ciba (Basel, Switzerland)—began full-scale steroid research and development programs in the 1930s.
Nobel Prize winner, Leopold Ruzicka of Ciba, a pharmaceutical industry giant that synthesized testosterone.
The Organon group in the Netherlands were the first to isolate the hormone, identified in a May 1935 paper "On Crystalline Male Hormone from Testicles (Testosterone)".[180] They named the hormone testosterone, from the stems of testicle and sterol, and the suffix of ketone. The structure was worked out by Schering's Adolf Butenandt, at the Chemisches Institut of Technical University in Gdańsk.[181][182]
The chemical synthesis of testosterone from cholesterol was achieved in August that year by Butenandt and Hanisch.[183] Only a week later, the Ciba group in Zurich, Leopold Ruzicka (1887–1976) and A. Wettstein, published their synthesis of testosterone.[184] These independent partial syntheses of testosterone from a cholesterol base earned both Butenandt and Ruzicka the joint 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[182][185] Testosterone was identified as 17β-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one (C19H28O2), a solid polycyclic alcohol with a hydroxyl group at the 17th carbon atom. This also made it obvious that additional modifications on the synthesized testosterone could be made, i.e., esterification and alkylation.
The partial synthesis in the 1930s of abundant, potent testosterone esters permitted the characterization of the hormone's effects, so that Kochakian and Murlin (1936) were able to show that testosterone raised nitrogen retention (a mechanism central to anabolism) in the dog, after which Allan Kenyon's group[186] was able to demonstrate both anabolic and androgenic effects of testosterone propionate in eunuchoidal men, boys, and women. The period of the early 1930s to the 1950s has been called "The Golden Age of Steroid Chemistry",[187] and work during this period progressed quickly. Research in this golden age proved that this newly synthesized compound—testosterone—or rather family of compounds (for many derivatives were developed from 1940 to 1960), was a potent multiplier of muscle, strength, and well-being.[188]
Other animals[edit]
Testosterone is observed in most vertebrates. Testosterone and the classical nuclear androgen receptor first appeared in gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates).[189] Agnathans (jawless vertebrates) such as lampreys do not produce testosterone but instead use androstenedione as a male sex hormone.[190] Fish make a slightly different form called 11-ketotestosterone.[191] Its counterpart in insects is ecdysone.[192] The presence of these ubiquitous steroids in a wide range of animals suggest that sex hormones have an ancient evolutionary history.[193]
ARABIA, Southern. Himyar. 'Amdān Bayān Yahaqbiḍ. Circa AD 100-120. AV Fraction (8mm, 0.37 g, 3h). Scyphate type. Raydan mint. Monogram within dotted circular border / Small head right; ‘scepter’ to left. Unpublished, but for silver fractions with these types, cf. CAF 3.10iii and cf. Huth 446. Near EF. One of two known.
Arabian gold issues are extremely rare. This same ruler is known to have issued a larger scyphate gold unit, known from two examples (Huth 436 and CNG 100, lot 107), that must have been issued concurrently with the present gold fraction, alongside silver units and fractions with the same types.
CNG108, 382
Our Daily Challenge 21-27 January : Fractions
I always cut these into 8 and ration myself to one bit each day
Arbatax, Tortolì fraction, is one of the most important ports on the east coast of Sardinia, located on the northern tip of the promontory of Capo Bellavista, the town is built around a tower of the late sixteenth century, which served as a munitions depot. Arbatax is famous for the characteristic red rocks, a cliff of red porphyry, which is located near the harbor, behind the east pier. Beyond the reef opens a passage carved into the rock through which you go to a beach at the foot of the red rocks.
Arbatax is a territory rich in green Mediterranean scrub and the characteristic red rocks and masses of porphyritic granite.
Arbatax is a stunning place to be in the spring, when you can see an explosion of colours with the contrast of the rocks of the headland and the reef, the white sandy beaches and the limpid waters. A natural frame to this panorama are the surrounding mountains, the highest on the island.
Arbatax (in sardo Arbatassa) è una frazione costiera del comune di Tortolì, in provincia dell'Ogliastra, sede di porto e di aeroporto (Tortolì-Arbatax).
Arbatax si trova su una penisola, (Capo Bellavista), al centro della costa orientale sarda, a ridosso dello Stagno di Tortolì. I centri abitati più vicini sono Tortolì (che è il capoluogo del comune di cui la frazione Arbatax fa parte: a 5 km), Girasole (a 7 km) e Lotzorai (ad 9 km).Le Rocce Rosse sono il Monumento Naturale più conosciuto di Arbatax, oltre che uno dei simboli dell'Isola. Vengono anche detti, meno diffusamente, "Scogli Rossi" e rappresentano una delle tante formazioni di filoni di porfido rosso affiorante dell'Ogliastra, (come per esempio i faraglioni di Cea a Bari sardo). Situate tra il Porto e Cala Moresca, queste rocce di porfido rosso dalla forma particolare che va man mano a stagliarsi nelle acque del Mediterraneo, non sono solo un monumento naturale ma rappresentano anche lo spendido e panoramico scenario della piccola spiaggia di scogli bianchi e di granito rosa, nonchè scenario dell'appuntamento annuale del ROCCE ROSSE & BLUES, una manifestazione musicale molto famosa
I know I`m fussy, but I messed this one up a bit, being a fraction of a second too slow allowing the pantograph to appear mixing with the trees behind. Still, I won`t be trying this shot once the fencing resumes. This is 90046 with 4M88 Felixstowe-Crewe BH. Watford village, 12th June 2014.
This time other fraction, Wolfpack. This is one of my favourite nation of Lego Castle. Maybe that gatehouse will be a part of something bigger :) I want to build big fortress based on modular elements, which could be useable in other models. But I’m not sure that my computer has enough power, we will see ;)
If you like my projects, please support my Lego Ideas sets:
ideas.lego.com/projects/416d8d9e-eb83-4b52-b5c0-1601f3295aa8
and
ideas.lego.com/projects/f202a55e-19bc-4b60-bcf7-4ea862bd2e06
Arrived from Bern as Fraction 7TV. Did a go-round due to wind shear of +/- 20kts then requested to divert to Yeovilton but landed on second attempt.
Street sign in the Landshuter Straße in Regensburg, southern Germany. The "fifty-six and one seventh" bit bears witness to when Napoleon tried to bring some order into the chaos of this fascinating city. The old town is UNESCO world heritage site and well worth a visit.
a fraction of a second after this one here:
got extremely close but nothing happened - flashes at night are quite blinding for the riders, gotta be careful :]
flash setup:
sb-28 70mm @ 1/8 power rider left
sb-24 70mm @ 1/8 power rider right
triggered via Elinchrom Skyports
Beautiful Mazzarò beach at the foot of Taormina's hill . The Lido of Mazzarò has grown from an ancient settlement of fishermen. The bay faces the Ionian Sea, surrounded by bright colors or blue depending on water depth, or from the different angle of sunlight. Mazzarò (alias Taormina mare) is a coastal fraction of Taormina. Tourists have plenty of choice, to make their way from Taormina that leads to the sea and vice versa. You can drive along the Via Pirandello and continue on the SS.114, or by the cable car that connects in few minutes Mazzarò to Taormina center and vice versa. For those who wants to enjoy the colors of Sicily can undertake a walk that starts from the beautiful panoramic view and ends with the arrival of the front bay of Isola Bella, immersed in an evergreen garden full of flowers and prickly pears characteristic of the Mediterranean. From the Bay of Mazzarò you can reach any other costal area : The Grotta Azzurra, the Capo Taormina one of the most exclusive area , also for its emerald green sea.
Mazzarò è una piccola spiaggia di Taormina in Sicilia e si trova direttamente sotto la collina.La spiaggia di Mazzarò a Taormina mare si trova direttamente sul lato nord della "piccola perla" di Isola Bella.La spiaggia nella baia di Mazzarò non è sicuramente tra le spiagge più grandi della zona ma senza dubbi tra le più belle. La sabbia è grossa con sassolini.Nella baia di Mazzarò, durante l' alta stagione, si trova qualche spiaggia libera e numerosi lidi a pagamento con ombrelloni e lettini. La spiaggia di Mazzarò si raggiunge da Taormina in soli 10 minuti con la funivia Taormina - Mazzarò.
Taormina is a comune and small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century. It has popular beaches (accessible via an aerial tramway) on the Ionian sea, which is remarkably warm and has a high salt content. Taormina can be reached via highways from Messina from the north and Catania .Just south of Taormina is the Isola Bella, a nature reserve. Tours of the Capo Sant' Andrea grottos are also available. Taormina is built on an extremely hilly coast, and is approximately a forty-five minute drive away from Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna.A stay at Taormina is not just a seaside vacation. This area, rich in charm and history, must be experienced in a spirit that is outside the ordinary, and for one simple reason: here, everything is extraordinary. Every stone is a thousand-year-old piece of history, the glorious sea reflects Taormina's beauty, as it shapes and marks the passage of time, and the places that enchanted the Greeks create to this day a vibrant and exciting ambiance. But trying to describe in words what makes Taormina unique is truly difficult.
Taormina ist eine Stadt mit 11.076 Einwohnern (Stand 31. Dezember 2010) an der Ostküste Siziliens. Die Gründung der Stadt geht auf die Sikuler zurück, die schon vor der griechischen Kolonisation auf den Terrassen des Monte Tauro siedelten. Im 4. Jahrhundert vor Christus wurde die Stadt griechisch. Die heutige Stadt ist eine Neugründung aus dem Mittelalter, nachdem die Araber die antike Stadt zerstört hatten.Auf Grund der malerischen Landschaft, des milden Klimas und zahlreicher historischer Sehenswürdigkeiten entwickelte sich die Stadt im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert zu einem der wichtigsten Touristenzentren Siziliens. Besonders bekannt und sehenswert sind das antike Theater mit Blick auf den Ätna und den Golf von Giardini-Naxos und die kleine Insel Isola Bella vor der Küste Taorminas.
Taormina (griego antiguo Ταυρομένιον, Tauromenion, latín Tauromenium) es una ciudad situada en la costa este de la isla de Sicilia (Italia), en la provincia de Mesina, a medio camino entre Mesina y Catania. Cuenta con 10.991 habitantes.Está casi en el límite de la provincia de Catania, se extiende por el monte Tauro, a 200 m de altitud, y se halla en un balcón sobre el mar, enfrente del volcán Etna. Es un centro turístico muy importante desde el siglo XIX.Posee magníficas playas (accesibles mediante teleférico) y un patrimonio histórico muy rico, cuyo máximo exponente es el célebre teatro greco-romano. Además, se conserva un castillo árabe, que ocupa el lugar de la antigua ciudadela o Arx.Taormina y el volcán Etna al fondo, desde el teatro griego.La ciudad fue fundada por los griegos en el 736 a. C., con el nombre de Naxos.La leyenda cuenta que los marinos griegos que pasaban por la costa oriental de Sicilia olvidaron realizar sacrificios en honor a Poseidón, y él, encolerizado, les hizo naufragar. El único superviviente, Teocles, llegó al Capo Schico, próximo a Naxos, y volvió a Grecia para contar las maravillas de Sicilia, convenciendo a sus compatriotas para instalarse en la isla.
Taormine, en italien Taormina, est une commune de la province de Messine en Sicile (Italie).Taormine est située sur la côte est de la Sicile, à peu près à mi-chemin entre Messine et Catane (50 km), presque à la limite de la province de Catane.Elle s’étend sur le Mont Tauro à 200 m d’altitude. La ville est en balcon sur la mer face à l’Etna. La Calabre, distante d'environ 30 km, est visible par temps clair ainsi que la nuit.La légende dit que des marins grecs, passant sur la côte orientale de la Sicile, avaient oublié de sacrifier à Neptune. Celui-ci, en colère, fit chavirer leur embarcation. Le seul survivant, Théocle, parvint au Cap Schiso, non loin du site de Naxos (aujourd'hui Giardini-Naxos). Il retourna ensuite en Grèce pour narrer à ses compatriotes les merveilles de la Sicile. Certains, convaincus, décidèrent de venir s’y installer.
Taormina è un comune di 10.991 abitanti della provincia di Messina. E' uno dei centri balneari di maggiore rilievo di tutta la regione. Il suo aspetto, il suo paesaggio, i suoi luoghi, le sue bellezze riescono ad attirare turisti provenienti da tutto il mondo.Situata su una collina a 206 m di altezza sul livello del mare , sospesa tra rocce e mare su un terrazzo del monte Tauro, in uno scenario di bellezze naturali unico per varietà e contrasti di motivi , splendore di colori e lussureggiante vegetazione.Il clima è dolcemente mite.Molto belle le mezze stagioni , Primavera e Autunno infatti vantano un clima idealmente mite.La storia di Taormina è sicuramente costellata da molteplici dominazioni, e questo è possibile vederlo passeggiando per le strade del centro storico che mostrano i segni lasciati dai vari popoli passati per Taomina. Essendo situata al centro del mediterraneo la Sicilia fu sempre una preda ambita per la sua posizione strategica di passaggio,situata sulla parte est e in posizione fortificata su una collina permetteva già da allora di controllare buona parte della costa ionica e ha sempre rappresentato un ottimo punto di fortificazione e controllo nelle stradegie di guerra. Dopo aver attestato l'esistenza di una sede di siculi ( antichi abitanti dell'isola, detti anche sicani) presso Taormina, per certo vi passarono e vi lasciarono le loro tracce I Greci, i Romani, i Saraceni, dunque gli Arabi, i Bizantini ,I Normanni , Gli Aragonesi , e per ultimi i Borboni.Un soggiorno a Taormina non è semplicemente una vacanza al mare. Questi luoghi, pregni di storia e di fascino, chiedono infatti di essere vissuti con uno spirito diverso da quello comune e la ragione è semplice: qui tutto è fuori dall'ordinario.Ogni pietra reca in sé una storia millenaria, il mare meraviglioso su cui Taormina riflette tutta la sua bellezza, condiziona e scandisce lo scorrere del tempo ed i luoghi che furono l'incanto dei greci trasmettono tutt'oggi un'atmosfera vibrante di emozioni. Ma tentare di descrivere con le parole ciò che rende unica Taormina è davvero difficile.
Font : Wikipedia
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgokPbsuXrw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2na3n59torA
The Walker Dam – Its Past, Present and Future (William Sell, Vice Chair, Craigiebuckler and
Seafield Community Council)
The Walker Dam, with which many Aberdeen citizens are so familiar, is only a fraction of the
size it was when - in the 1830s - it was constructed in accordance with the plans drawn by
Aberdeen’s first City Architect, John Smith. From the second quarter of the 19th century to
the early 20th century the dam was a deep and massive body of water which extended from
its present location, eastward, to Springfield Road – then called Walker Dam Road – where
its sluice gate would have been opened at the beginning of the working day to allow water
to rush through a culvert under the road, then south-east through a deep man-made
channel (which is still evident today) to feed the steam condensing ponds of the Rubislaw
Bleachfield, the property Richards and Company, textile manufacturers.
Today this treasured green space is one of Aberdeen City Council's 'Local Nature
Conservation Sites', the 'Walker Dam and Rubislaw Link', which is a 3.9 kilometre walk along
a series of connected paths and streets. Popular with dog walkers, joggers and ramblers, the
future of this valuable charming landscaped area with its semi-natural habitats, has been
secured by the initiatives and work of 'Friends of Walker Dam' who are registered with 'Keep
Scotland Beautiful' - a Scottish environment charity – which, independent of governmental
finance and influence, is committed to the improvement of people’s lives and the places
they care for.
The Friends of Walker Dam work in partnership with Aberdeen City Council to deliver the
standards of maintenance and the plans for future improvements to this amenity site. Mr
Allan Davidson, Treasurer of Craigiebuckler and Seafield Community Council who is also a
member of Friends of Walker Dam, has frequent meetings with the City Council's
Environment Manager. Those meetings have been very productive and improvements to the
site have already been achieved. For example, there has been a clean-up of the Dam and the
burn which flows into it; improvements have also been made to the path on the South bank
of the dam, which is part of Aberdeen's core path system. The Walker Dam sign has also
been repainted.
In the near future, a bridge will be constructed at the East bank of the dam to connect its
North and South banks - thus making both banks accessible for the enjoyment of visitors to
the dam. This significant infrastructural improvement has been made possible by a final act
of generosity by Aberdeen Greenspace Trust. Local Councillor Martin Greig is a member of
Greenspace and worked to ensure a donation of £8000 from the Trust towards the upgrade
of the Walker Dam which includes the construction of the bridge, new benches, bins and
various paths and tree works. A further enhancement in the area is a community notice
board.
Thanks to the Friends of Walker Dam, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Greenspace Trust
and the work of many volunteers, we have much to look forward to.
Walker Dam
Walker Dam is located within the former Royal Forest of Stocket, part of the Freedom Lands
gifted by Robert I to the burgh (recorded in a charter of 1319). Now it is in the modern
Burnieboozle estate, part of the larger Craigiebuckler estate, which was sparsely populated
countryside until the 1950s, when major housing development began in that area. Walker Dam is
bounded by Springfield Road (which replaced a roadway called Walker Dam Road) to the east
and Woodburn Gardens to the north.
The dam is fed by the Holburn (‘Burn of the Howe’), which has two head waters, the northern
and greater one coming from Hazlehead and through Walker Dam.1
The section entering Walker
Dam is the West Burn of Rubislaw. The two head streams of the Holburn joined together
between Rubislaw Quarry and Springbank Cemetery, and this united stream fed the steamcondensing
ponds at Rubislaw Bleachfield before flowing eastward together as far as Hartington
Road, where they separate. The south branch, the original burn, crossed Union Grove and passed
under the old Holburn Bridge, while the north branch, an artificial mill-lead, went to the Upper
and Lower Justice Mills.2
As a consequence, Walker Dam was at one time closely associated
with the city’s milling operations and, especially, with textile manufacturing. In the nineteenth
century it was a resource integral to the firm once called Maberly’s (established between 1808
and 1811) and later Richards, which had the Broadford Works on Maberly Street and which was
the principal user of the bleachfields. An 1866-67 Ordnance Survey description of Walker Dam
gives it as ‘a very large dam built by the proprietors of the Rubislaw Bleach Field for their own
use.’3
Bleachfields were a development of the eighteenth century Scottish textile and thread
industries. The first bleachfield in Scotland was established in the late 1720s as an alternative to
either small, burnside bleaching operations which were of variable quality, or sending the
unbleached cloth to England, Ireland or Holland for treatment.4
In March 1801, the lands of Springfield were offered for sale. They were described as
comprising about 63 acres, ‘inclosed and subdivided’, and held feu of ‘the Community of
Aberdeen’ at the annual feu-duty of £2 14s 2d sterling. A large house was included in the sale,
and it was noted that ‘the dam for the Justice-mills is situated within this property, and the millburn
passes thro’ it, by which considerable benefit may be derived by a purchaser.’ Other
advantages of the estate were two small plantations of trees, and the fact that the proposed
1
J. Milne, Aberdeen: Topographical, Antiquarian, and Historical Papers on the City of Aberdeen
(Aberdeen, 1911), 49.
2
Milne, Aberdeen, p49. (most of para to this point.)
3
Ordnance Survey Name Book, Aberdeenshire (Vol 69), 1865-1871, 158.
4
A.J. Durie, The Scottish Linen Industry in the Eighteenth Century (Edinburgh, 1979)
1
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
turnpike road to Skene and Alford was to pass through the lands, which would increase their
value.
In 1833 Aberdeen Town Council agreed to have Walker Dam cleaned out and deepened, in
partnership with Messrs Richards and Company, manufacturers in Aberdeen.5
Richards was the
instigator of the plan, to which the Council agreed because the work was expected to be ‘highly
beneficial to the Upper and Nether Justice Mills by affording them an additional supply of water,’
and authorised it providing that the Town’s share of the costs would not exceed £20; the work
would be executed under the sole charge of John Smith, Town Superintendant; and Richards,
which must not spend less than the Council on the project, should not use this as a means of
claiming any right over Walker Dam in future.6
In 1837, Richards proposed to the Council that Walker Dam should be excavated and extended,
citing an 1829 agreement to this effect between the Town and Messrs Maberly and Company, the
previous owners of the manufacturing works now operated by Richards (Maberley’s folded in
1832).7
Richards sought a lease of the dam water at a fixed rent once the work had been
completed.8
The Council remitted consideration of this to a committee previously established to
look at a proposal to move Justice Mill Dam westwards to Rubislaw. Early in 1839, the Council
approved the recommendation of this committee that Walker Dam should be excavated and
enlarged so that it would hold an additional 700,000 cubic feet of water, again on the grounds that
it would provide a more reliable source of water for the town’s mills, especially in the dry
season.9
The new capacity of the dam was expected to be more than adequate for the needs of the
mills. The estimated cost of the works at this stage was £360: should the eventual cost exceed
£400, Richards was to pay the excess. The company was also to pay the Council £75 a year for its
lease of the water, and would be responsible for repair and maintenance of the extended dam, to
the satisfaction of the Town, during the life of its lease. (Richards continued to own rights over
the water for several decades.10)
After further negotiations, a Council meeting of 15 April 1839 approved implementation of the
project and authorised the Town Treasurer to enter into a contract with Richards and Co.11 Work
included the construction of a spillwater tunnel and breast mound for the dam extension, along
5
Meeting of 2 October 1833, Council Register Vol. 72, p.206.
6
Meeting of 2 October 1833, Council Register Vol. 72, p.206.
7
Meeting of 11 April 1837, Council Register Vol 74, p131; R. Duncan, Textiles and Toil: The Factory
System and the Industrial Working Classes in early Nineteenth Century Aberdeen (Aberdeen City Libraries,
1984), p.11.
8
Ibid.
9
Meeting of 7 January 1839, Council Register Vol. 75, p48.
10
Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 6 July 1880, 28 November 1889, 15 March 1894 and 27 November 1895.
11
Meeting of 15 April 1839, Council Register Vol. 75, p83.
2
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
with additional dykes and the installation of a new cast-iron tunnel pipe and sluice.12 The plans,
drawings and a detailed specification produced by the Council formed the basis of the contract,
signed on 17 April 1839.13 The revised estimate of costs based on the plans drawn up by the
Town considerably exceeded the original £400 anticipated; the Council minutes do not record the
new estimate but note that Richards offered to pay the full amount, on the basis that Richards
would receive the original £400 from the Town once the work was completed.14 The Council had
earlier noted that implementation of the project would require the purchase of an adjacent piece
of land owned by Alexander Bannerman and instructed that he should be approached to sell part
of his property near Springfield.15 The necessary land was obtained from Bannerman at a feu-duty
of £20, recorded in a feu charter of 19 April 1839.16
On 1 August 1860, the lands and estates of Craigiebuckler and Burnieboozle, including Walker
Dam, were offered for sale by public roup, as part of the sequestrated estate of John Blaikie,
advocate. (John Blaikie went to Spain in 1860, following the collapse of his business and
financial ruin. He was a son of James Blaikie of Craigiebuckler, Provost of Aberdeen from 1833
to 1835.) Walker Dam is described in the sale notice as ‘an Ornamental Sheet of Water, from
which there is an yearly Revenue of £20 sterling from the Town of Aberdeen’.17 The estates
evidently failed to sell at the advertised ‘upset price’ (the lowest price consistent with the
valuation of a property) of at £5,771 2s 6d, since the estate of Burnieboozle, within which Walker
Dam is situated, was again offered for sale on 3 September 1860, now at £5,500, with
neighbouring lands at Springfield for sale separately.18 Again it failed to realise this amount and
was offered for sale on 5 October 1860 at the further reduced upset price of £5,200.19 At some
point after this date it was purchased by John Stewart, Esq.
The lands of Burnieboozle and Walkerhill were once again offered for sale in August 1865, with
Walker Dam included - the sale notice mentions the annual feu-duty of £20 paid by the Town
Council on it.20 In early September, the Aberdeen Journal reported that ‘The estates of
Craigiebuckler, Burnieboozle, Walkerhill, and others, lately belonging to John Stewart, Esq., were
on Friday purchased for the sum of £31,500 by Lauchlan McKinnon, junior, advocate, on behalf
of John Cardno Couper, Esq., lately of Whampoa, China.’ (Whampoa is now usually known as
12
Classifed advertisement inviting tenders for the work, The Aberdeen Journal, 30 Jan 1839.
13
Town Clerk’s Plans CA/10/1/72 and CA/10/1/76, Record of the Royal Burgh and Fonds/Collection
1179-present, Aberdeen City Archives.
14
Meeting of 15 April 1839, Council Register Vol. 75, p83.
15
Ibid.
16
Meeting of 19 April 1839, Council Register Vol. 75, p85.
17The Aberdeen Journal, 18 July 1860.
18The Aberdeen Journal, 15 and 29 August 1860.
19
The Aberdeen Journal, 12 and 19 September and 3 October 1860.
20The Aberdeen Journal, 9 August 1865.
3
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
Huangpu.) Couper, from Fraserburgh, had served as an apprentice in the Aberdeen shipbuilding
firm of Alexander Hall and Co. before going to Hong Kong and working with his father in their
own highly successful ship-building and repairing company. By the time he returned to Aberdeen
in the 1860s, he had amassed a fortune. He was involved in a number of Aberdeen business
enterprises and in the Church of Scotland. Couper gave a portion of land close to Walker Dam to
be the site of Craigiebuckler Church, built in 1883, of which he was an elder. He died in January
1902 at the age of 82. His son, Lieutenant-Colonel John Cardno Ogston Couper (1st Highland
Brigade), succeeded to the property but died at the age of 48 in 1913. His widow and two young
children remained at Craigiebuckler; his daughter, Florence, went on to marry the ministe
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
The Council’s Finance Committee visited the dam in the aftermath of the tragic incident and
agreed to recommend the repair of the surrounding walls. They also instructed that information
boards should be erected at the site warning of the dangers. During this site visit, one of the
councillors slipped by the side of the stream entering the dam, and fell into the mud. It is not
clear if the children had similarly slipped and landed in the water, or if they had intended to enter
it.
The future of Walker Dam was the subject of two proposals of 1933. Council minutes of 4
December that year record that Aberdeen Land Association intended to donate to the Council the
wooded den lying between Johnston House on Springfield Road and Viewfield Road, on
condition the den should be maintained by the local authority as an open space and that the
Council pay half the cost of a proposed road to be built along the west boundary of the property.
The Council formally accepted this proposal in January of 1934.26
Also in December 1933, the City Engineer, Thomas F. Henderson, wrote to the Council’s Streets
and Works Committee, which was then looking at the widening of Springfield Road and the
layout and construction of a new road between it and Queen’s Road. Henderson asked the
committee to consider the future use of the Council-owned Walker Dam at the same time.
According to Henderson: ‘This dam is formed on a burn which rises in the grounds of Hazlehead
and flows through the dam and joins the West Burn of Rubislaw at a point south-east of
Kepplestone Nursing Home and later forms what is known as the Ferryhill Burn.’ On 12 July
that year, very heavy rainfall had flooded the electricity works and caused damage to property in
Crown Street and Ferryhill Terrace. To prevent further flooding, the water was run out of the dam
on 1 September and although here had been no heavy rain since then, ‘we know that, by
controlling the flow at the outlet of the dam we can reduce the risk of flooding in the lower parts
very considerably.
‘In conjunction with the Superintendant of Parks, I have prepared a plan showing how the Walker
Dam could be laid out as a pleasure ground where the public could leave Springfield Road and
walk through the gardens on to the grounds of Hazlehead. The superintendant of parks is of the
opinion that during storm periods the gardens could be flooded without doing much damage to
the grass or plants. As the Dam is the property of the Common Good, I would suggest that the
sub-committee confer with the Finance Committee and Town Planning Committee and submit a
report.’
26 Council Minute, 15 January 1934.
5
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
The next meeting of full Council on 3 January 1934 agreed that the committee should investigate
further, though it also wanted the remarks of the Superintendant of Parks about flooding not
doing damage to the proposed gardens to be deleted. Also presented to the Council at the same
meeting was a letter to the Town Clerk from Professor James Ritchie of the University of
Aberdeen, suggesting the Council should consider making Walker Dam a bird sanctuary. This
was remitted to Streets and Works Committee for consideration. (The two schemes were possibly
not wholly compatible - some residents opposed turning the site into a pleasure park on the
grounds that it would interfere with the natural beauty and the birdlife of the site.) It seems that
these two proposals had been prompted by the threat of the dam being filled in or otherwise
scrapped: two days after the Council meeting, a reader’s letter to the Aberdeen Journal urged that
the dam should be improved and made safe for children rather than ‘done away with’. The writer
suggested that a low wall could be built around it, ‘made from the old dykes that have been pulled
down in the vicinity’. Whatever enclosure was erected in 1911 after the drowning incident had
evidently not endured.
The same edition of the paper published an old photograph of the dam ‘before it was drained’.
This remark referred to the decision to run off the water in the dam the previous year, to obviate
flood damage to the surroundings. However, doing so had created other problems –
correspondents to the Aberdeen Journal in 1934 complained about the condition of the dam as
‘an evil-smelling mudhole’ and ‘horrible looking and stinking’, especially during hot weather,
and recommended that the Medical Officer of Health should investigate.
Whatever schemes were mooted for the dam, they took a considerable time to be implemented.
The better part of two years later, a short Bon-Accord article of October 1935 reports work being
undertaken to transform Walker Dam, ‘from its present wild state’.27 An accompanying photo
depicts workers filling in part of the dam. According to the piece, Walker Dam ‘is being used by
the Cleansing Department as a tip for hard material, which is being put to a good use in filling up
the dam.’ At the time this article appeared, the newspaper thought there was no definite scheme
approved by the Council for the future of the site, but, ‘One proposal is that the site be converted
into a recreation ground.’ At around the same time, the Council made provision for the
installation of a new sewer at Walker Dam, at a cost of £500.28
27Bon-Accord 11 October 1935, p.163.
28
Minute of Finance Committee, 27 August 1935, included in Minutes and Proceedings of Aberdeen
Town Council, 2 September 1935.
6
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
From the mid-1940s and during the 1950s, Stewart Construction (Aberdeen) Ltd., which was by
then the heritable proprietor of the Craigiebuckler estate, built several housing developments on
the land around Walker Dam.29
The minute of a meeting of the Links and Parks Committee of Aberdeen Town Council, held on
24 August 1964, notes that the committee considered a report by the Director of Parks and agreed
the recommendation that the Council lay out an amenity area on ground lying to the south of the
woodlands at Walker Dam extending to c. 0.75 of an acre. This was one of three proposed (and
agreed) amenity areas to be created in the vicinity and included in the report, the others being a
strip of ground on the south side of Hazledene Road (c. 0.4 acre), and two strips of ground
adjoining Craigiebuckler Avenue (c. 3,150 square yards). The total estimated cost is given as
£1,470.30
By this time Walker Dam had become home to a community of swans. The Press & Journal
reported that the Links and Parks Committee of 30 September 1964 considered a letter from the
Aberdeen Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, requesting the committee ban
fishing in Walker Dam, so as to protect the swans living on it. The committee recommended no
action. This was the second attempt by the association to have fishing banned: it had submitted a
similar request at the previous meeting. The renewal of the request was prompted by the
discovery of a cygnet badly injured by a fishing hook and line.31 Walker Dam is no longer a swan
habitat, but they were a popular feature of Walker Dam for many years. When Walker Dam Infant
School opened in 1966, it adopted the emblem of swans on water as its school badge. (The swans
have also inspired the song, ‘Walker Dam’, by Aberdeen singer-songwriter Bob Knight.) A
Springfield resident, Mrs Nanette Grieve, had left the Council a bequest on her death in 1955 to
fund the services of a warden to protect them.32 At times, much effort was put into ensuring this
protection: the Evening Express in 1972 reported that the Council had mounted a vigil of ‘almost
Loch Garten proportions’ to see that swan eggs made it to hatching. In previous years eggs had
been stolen or lost due to flooding.
As this suggests, the problem of flooding at Walker Dam, highlighted by the City Engineer in
1933, was still an issue over thirty years later. In 1965, the Evening Express published ‘before
and after’ photographs of the flooded area: the latter image shows Council parks and recreation
staff laying out grounds and planting shrubs and other flora capable of surviving immersion for a
29Craigiebuckler Chartulery (Charter Register of Craigiebuckler, 1958-1959), CA/4/21 in Records of
the Royal Burgh and City of Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Archives.
30Minutes and Proceedings of the Town Council 1964-1965 (Aberdeen, 1965), p. 403.
31Press & Journal, 1 October 1964.
32
Aberdeen’s Parks (City of Aberdeen Leisure and Recreation Department publication, undated but
believed to be 1980s.)
7
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
few days. The newspaper also reported that the works were to include provision for the dam
water to be diverted at times into a burn, so relieving the pressure and reducing the silting that
had caused flooding problems in the past. A 1969 article in the Aberdeen Press & Journal refers
to Walker Dam being a body of water ‘shaped and even bottomed by the combined operations of
the Aberdeen Corporation Cleansing and Links & Parks Departments,’ and to a plan by Links &
Parks to provide an amenity walk or nature trail along the course from Johnston Gardens to
Hazlehead, via Walker Dam.
Today (2014) Walker Dam (with Rubislaw Link) is a 3.38 hectare Local Nature Conservation Site,
run by Aberdeen City Council’s Countryside Ranger Service.33 Comprising a mix of open water,
landscaped areas and semi-natural habitats, with a footpath running through it, Walker Dam is an
important recreational and educational resource, being one of the few larger bodies of water in the city.
A fraction of a second after I took this snap, the seagull flew off with this guy's hat. (Fortunately, it dropped it on the land, so he got it back.) I talked with the guy afterwards & he shared his story: For about the past ten years, he's been coming down to this spot to feed the birds. He brings them two large orders of McDonald's fries, and a blueberry muffin ... but today he ate the muffin.
The water feature in Martin Place, Sydney, would have to be one of the more uninspiring water features I've come across so it was nice to see it transformed into something entirely more electric for the recent Vivid Festival in Sydney.
Officially entitled re/FRACTION you can find more information about this installation at tinyurl.com/ya8rvrox
1991’s Aerial Intruder from the Blacktron II fraction enters the LEGO City!
The ‘Big’ ship from a fan favorite (myself decidedly included) sub-theme is actually not all that big compared to the other Space sub-themes’ flagships. This ship checks the majority of my criteria for what made an excellent spaceship play set as a kid!
Great color scheme and cool large transparent elements?
Blacktron 2 has arguably the best + printed large windshield!
Detachable base with usable interior space?
The center of the ship is large when opened and has an aft storage compartment. While tight when loaded with cargo, great when side-builds are deployed
Dropship/Escape Pod?
Two of the best designed simple ships that deploy from the sides, that are also designed to be compatible with the rest of the sub-theme! So simple and genius
And a bonus jetpack element that is classic
Rover?
Two! Yes, super simple, but very standard for the time.
Action features?
The simple rover launch action definitely suffices.
Droid/Robot?
Not for this faction, but I believe that’s because they were outlaws. Correct me if I’m wrong?
Yes, I’m a really big fan of this old spaceship. Any detractors, like having 5 pilot-able options with only two minifigs can be understood with all their buddies they’d have to break from the Space Police II
This Absolute Classic brings me to the conclusion of my look back at some of my favorite LEGO from the ‘90s. I’m sure I’ll do more shoots with these sets in the future, but I’ve got a ton of contemporary sets to showcase for now and a large MOC in progress.
What did you think of this ship? Did you have it? Does it hold up today?
#LEGO #Blacktron2 #ClassicSpace #6981 #AerialIntruder #LEGO1991 #LEGOSpace #Legoblacktron #blacktron #afol #legomania #LegoArialInteuder #LegoJetPack #LegoPhotography #RetroLego #LEGO6981 #LEGOSystem #Legoland #toyPhotography #LegoPics #toyPics #90sLEGO #LegoCity #NeonLegoBricks #ToyNostalgia #LEGOSpaceship #ClassicLego #LegoSpaceMan #NeonBricks #Vaporwave #VintageLego
Was a thing I've always wanted to try ... My buddy, Khalil, came along with all the things we needed .... well, we ended up makin' it happen.
Influenza A(H1N1) virus is a subtype of influenzavirus A and the most common cause of influenza (flu) in humans. Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a large fraction of all seasonal influenza. H1N1 strains caused roughly half of all human flu infections in 2006.[1] Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs (swine influenza) and in birds (avian influenza).
In June 2009, World Health Organization declared that flu due to a new strain of swine-origin H1N1 was responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic. This strain is commonly called "swine flu" by the public media.
Bolingbroke Castle is now a fraction of its former glory but - in its day - it was a handsome and important building. As the birthplace of Henry of Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV, it could be argued that Bolingbroke was the cradle of the so-called 'Wars of the Roses' as it was Henry who overthrew the unpopular Richard II - but his act of rebellion also established a precedent. Two generations later the House of York overthrew his equally unpopular grandson, Henry VI.
www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/albums/7215768230649... to see the full set.
The area had been fortified by the Saxons in the 6th or 7th century AD but in the 12th century the Normans built a motte and bailey castle on a nearby hill. The present castle was founded by Ranulf, Earl of Chester in 1220 shortly after he returned from the Fifth Crusade. Its imposing round towers were fashionable and he may have been inspired by castles he saw on his travels. He also chose to build without a keep although the huge gatehouse may have served a double function of both keep and gate.
The site is an irregular hexagon with round towers at the salient points and a handsome twin-towered gateway facing the present village. The moat to the main site was 90-100 feet wide with the water lapping at the base of the walls when built. Today, so much material has fallen into the moat that there is now a wide berm around the base of the exterior wall where visitors can walk. When built it was lime-washed in white and traces of this remain on some of the walls today.
Ranulf had died in 1232 without a male heir, and his titles, lands and castles passed to his sisters. Following the death of the first Duke of Lancaster in 1361 Bolingbroke passed through marriage into the ownership of John of Gaunt. His wife Blanche, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, was born at the Castle in 1345. John and Blanche's son, Henry was also born at Bolingbroke Castle in 1367 and became known as "Henry of Bolingbroke" before he took the throne in 1399.
In addition to this main castle there is a ditched outer enclosure (see aerial photo) which may have served an agricultural purpose. Within this there is a mysterious earthwork of roughly 'playing card' shape with its long side facing towards the castle. This earthwork has not been positively identified but the ditch is still deep enough to be flooded today and was clearly defensive. It is probably a siege earthwork from 1643 (its in the right position and at the right range for muskets and cannon) but the enclosure also strongly resembles the king's 'pleasaunce' which Henry IV's son, Henry V, constructed at Kenilworth Castle during his reign. At Kenilworth this functioned as a secure pleasure palace to entertain friends, and the ladies, at the far end of the huge lake and moat. Bolingbroke's may have been an earlier essay in the craft given that Henry of Bolingbroke was under constant threat when he got into dispute with Richard II. Henry snr may have needed somewhere outside the smells and claustrophobia of the castle's main walls where he could kick back and enjoy himself in relative security. The outer ditched area around would then lend itself to riding and hawking. Think of it as a 'man cave' in the garden perhaps? Of is it just a Parliamentarian siege work?
The local building material was poor in quality and by the 16th century, the castle had fallen into disrepair. Some work was carried out during the Tudors. In 1636 a survey found that all of the towers were - effectively - beyond repair.
A bad castle is better than no castle, so at the start of the English Civil War Bolingbroke was garrisoned by the Royalists. In 1643 it was damaged in a siege and the nearby Battle of Winceby. The following year, the castle was recaptured from Parliament but was lost again later. In 1652 the castle was 'slighted' (deliberately damaged) to prevent any further use. The towers and walls were torn down and dumped into the moat. The last major tower fragment collapsed in 1815.
Of course none of this collapse would have been helped by locals robbing the stone for their own buildings. Large parts of the castle are probably in the village and in surrounding farms and villages!
The site is free to visit, supported by a local friends group.It is in the care of English Heritage via a Lincolnshire heritage group.
Rasiglia is a mountain fraction of the municipality of Foligno that rises at over 600 meters above sea level, along the state road 319, about 18 km from the city of Quintana.
The town, which retains the typical characteristics of the medieval village gathering in an amphitheater structure, is famous above all for its springs: walking through the suggestive alleys of the center it is impossible not to be enchanted by the waterways that cross the town, making it unique and charming.
The spring that feeds and runs through Rasiglia is that of Capovena: it is located in the upper part of the town, at the foot of the building that the Trincis (lords of Foligno between 1305 and 1439) occupied at the time of their government over the Foligno area, and which runs through the country forming rivulets and waterfalls that meet in a large pool called "Peschiera", and then pour into the river Menotre.
12:10 am CET -> Castro de San Martín
Moon data: Waxing Crescent. Fraction illuminated 0.42
This should be viewed on Black
Focal length: 12mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 970 sec
ISO Speed: 100
FLUIDR I flickriver I Flickr Hive Mind I Getty Images I 500px
This colliery, which before nationalisation was owned by Ashington Coal Co. Ltd., commenced operations in 1910, and the take is now served by two downcast shafts, one upcast shaft and a man-access drift. Of these, the main coal-winding shaft is No. 1, which is downcast, 13 ft. in dia. and 425 ft. deep to the Yard seam level. The other downcast is also 13 ft. in dia. but the upcast (No. 3) has a diameter of 15 ft. No. 2 shaft is sunk to the Five Quarter seam level with its winding inset at the Yard seam level where in addition to being used for manriding it deals with that fraction of the output with which the No. 1 shaft is unable to cope in two shifts’ winding. The No. 3 shaft is 548 ft. deep to the Five Quarter seam and is equipped with a single-deck cage suitable for relief manriding only.
Both the downcast shafts have doubledeck cages which carry two 10½-cwt. tubs on each deck. They are equipped with rail-type rigid guides, and No. 1 pit winding rope has a circumference of 4½ in. which is a quarter of an inch greater than the circumference of No. 2 pit winding rope. Steam winding is practised at both these shafts, the engines, which are of Robey manufacture, having cylinders of 20-in bore and 40-in stroke. Each winder is fitted with Black brakes and has a cylindrical drum 9 ft. dia. by 6 ft. wide.
Ellington has a severe water problem, as much as one million and twenty thousand gallons being pumped out of the pit daily, and we understand that at one time there was at least three tons of water raised for every ton of coal wound.
Information from Colliery Engineering Magazine via the Durham Mining Museum website.
A fraction of a second after the previous, the buck's perilously close, but she managed to stay safely ahead of him. And thus, another of many more consignments of straw were delivered to the nest - through the rest of the afternoon, I saw her come close for another hefty mouthful, then return to a particular spot by the fence. Soon, there'll be a few more buns in the world. ^_^
As I end this fraction of my Black Gold project/series which reflects on self loathing. I'm extremely grateful for having this model participate in my method/madness, not only did he understand and relate to the concept but he willingly went beyond the call to allow it to be fluid and together we were able to create exactly what I envisioned, exactly what I wrote a couple months ago. "12 years thinking my shade too dark" - understanding yourself is always challenging but the beauty you find in making peace with who you are and how you look isn't only liberating, it's monumental! It's a pivotal part to achieving that eternal pursuit of happiness, the ever changing and elusive. Growing up in a house where I was the only dark one I often wondered how would it be if I was lighter. Would I be pretty? Would I now be attractive? Would I be free of one more stigma? Would the general public love me more? And without me even noticing this transcended into deeper and subconscious personality traits. I started to only see beauty in what was fair and the media only cemented this vision by displaying and monopolizing what shades were deemed alluring, coincidentally the lack of love and appreciation for melanin is exactly what made me love it even more, what made me love me even more. So in this series I've exaggerated complexions to fully explore the contrast in the narrative. In some cases making it exactly as it is, BLACK AND WHITE.
So this series begins with Pride meanders through perspective, decisions and ends with a hopeful fade.
Pride, he stood looking out with all his darkened splendor thinking he could take on the world, thinking he's ready for any challenge but as the look lingers on he begins to experience doubt, a doubt that plays with his mind. Which leads to a myriad of conflicting emotions.
Here's the piece I wrote that started it all.
I look at my skin and I think that it isn’t enough somewhere my hue falls short my shade just isn’t right and therefore my life isn’t worth as much. I look at my skin and I wonder why I hate this shade, was I somehow subconsciously indoctrinated, somewhere I was taught that my shade would never be enough, that it would always be poorly represented, corporately BLACKlisted, aggressively persecuted. I look at this skin and think that there isn’t any beauty in it, I loathe this skin, this skin that acts a certain way, this stereotypical skin, this melanin. I look away from this skin to find acceptable beauty, they must be lighter than me, brighter than me, fairer than me, redder than me, whiter than me. RIGHTER THAN ME. More commercially represented than me. They just mustn’t be me! And even though mama tried to teach me that nothing was wrong with it, I just somehow fail to see, how this could ever be true so with pride in everything other than myself I walk to the sea, to be washed clean, to become a new, fairer, lighter, beautiful me. - Complexion.
in the friction, in a flash, when your eyes are glittering at the top of my thick cable thigh high socks, this is where I stand, this is when I take another step, give you permission to grab at my hips, to hold me steady while you work to make me lose my concentration.
flickr.com/groups/mdpd2008/discuss/72157603942206059/#com...
( I don't do html :( but this is the link to my diary. I've decided to write different text on my diary page :)